I have to say, Heath Ledger is a god, He play's Joker so... so.... I can't even put it into words! After the horor of his death, Comes the glory of is role in The Dark Knight.
Heath Ledger presents himself as The Joker in a role that defines a career. It is unimaginable it would come to the point that a film based on a comic book character could actually have such an impact on one person. On a generation. Ledger's decent into what is, and has become, The Joker makes Jack Nicholson's interpretation look like nothing more than a simple clown. "Wait until they get a load of me," says Jack... Wait until you get a load of Heath says I.
The Dark Knight presents a character so destructive and without a care for those landing in his path of decimation that you are left to your own devices. Love him. Hate him. Hate to love him or love to hate him! Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief. No plastic mask for Ledger; his face is caked with moldy makeup that highlights the red scar of a grin, the grungy hair and the yellowing teeth of a hound fresh out of hell. To the clown prince of crime, a knife is preferable to a gun, the better to "savor the moment." Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who moonlights as Batman. Having eased more comfortably into a lifestyle of excess, Wayne lurks on the fringes of his family's corporation as CEO Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) runs the boardroom. But when an ambitious district attorney named Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) comes forward to challenge Gotham City's villainy through proper legal channels, the man also known as Batman sees an opportunity to replace his vigilante persona with a figure of virtue who will truly inspire the best in the citizenry.
As with any Hollywood blockbuster based on a comic book and promising action and visual effects, reviewers had every reason to be sceptical. But after months of feverish speculation and hype, Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins, which returns Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, lived up to its billing when it was previewed in Sydney last night.
Whether storming a party, sitting in a prison cell or tottering around in a nurse's uniform, Ledger is manically mesmerising as the Joker. "You complete me," he says teasingly to Batman.
Teens wanting action will enjoy The Dark Knight. Some adults will be put off by the violence, non-stop action and sonic impact. Others, including this reviewer, will want to watch it again - to see whether the complex story makes sense, to appreciate that Hollywood sometimes gets it right and to be reminded of Ledger's brilliance.
Director Nolan spent $180 million on this movie and it's apparent, with the jaw-dropping stunts of a Bond picture enhanced selectively by the full IMAX treatment. Which, of course, you can only appreciate by seeing it at an IMAX theater. When Batman launches himself from a building high above the concrete canyons of Gotham, or faces off against The Joker on a city street, we get the grand sense of being there while history is unmade. Weave in the ominous, bi-tonal score (composed by dream team orchestrators James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer) and you're presented with a spectacle of hypnotic dimensions.
The Dark Knight is a trully brilliant film, Between the explosive story and Heath Ledger, You'll want to see it over and over again!
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